Northbank Center centennial
OVPR seeking nominations for research staff, faculty awards
The Office of the Vice President for Research is seeking nominations for its annual research awards to celebrate the impact and importance of research staff and faculty, who help drive the success of university operations. OVPR has established 11 research staff awards to recognize staff excellence across a wide range of fields, including technicians, administrators, study coordinators, staff support, facility and core services, leadership, and data management and analysis. To honor the scholarly work of research faculty, OVPR encourages nominations for its Collegiate Research Professorship Award, Research Faculty Achievement Award and Research Faculty Recognition Award. Nominations for both the research staff and faculty awards are due Feb. 28. Learn more about the awards or submit a nomination.
Deborah Loewenberg Ball named to National Science Board
Deborah Loewenberg Ball, the William H. Payne Collegiate Professor of Education, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, and a research professor with the Survey Research Center at the Institute for Social Research, will be appointed to the National Science Board, the White House has announced. The National Science Board establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation, identifying issues that may be pertinent to the NSF’s future while managing its budget and approving new programs and awards. Ball also is a past dean of the School of Education and director of TeachingWorks, a center based at the school that designs resources and supports educators to enact equitable teaching practices. She will serve a six-year term as a member of the board.
CoE faculty members helping shape the future of semiconductors
Six faculty members from the College of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are involved in three new multi-institution research centers, all focused on next-generation semiconductors. These centers are among the seven in total funded as part of the Joint University Microelectronics Program 2.0, or JUMP 2.0. Each center is funded at a level of approximately $30 million over five years. The faculty members and the centers they’re involved with are:
- David Blaauw, Michael Flynn, Hun-Seok Kim — CogniSense: Center on Cognitive Multispectral Sensors.
- Zhengya Zhang — ACE: Center for Evolvable Computing.
- Elaheh Ahmadi, Hessam Mahdavifar, Zhengya Zhang — CUbiC: Center for Ubiquitous Connectivity.
Read more about the faculty members and their work with the centers.
Many older adults declined home medical care for fear of COVID
COVID-19 interrupted or delayed medical treatment for many people who chose to put off elective procedures or couldn’t get in to see a specialist. But new research from the University of Michigan finds another population was affected: Many homebound older adults canceled medically necessary home-based health care services out of fear of getting COVID-19. This caused new or worsening medical conditions for a number of patients, and home-based health care providers reported feeling that they lacked sufficient information and training to advise patients through the process of deciding whether to continue care. Disease management continues to shift toward a home health care model, but there’s not much literature on how public health emergencies impact continuity of home health care. To learn more, researchers interviewed 27 Medicare-certified home health providers in eight U.S. counties to better understand older adults’ decision making around home-based care service during COVID-19. Read more about this research.
— Compiled by James Iseler, The University Record
